1 . Teaching and Learning can be more productive with the aid of today’s smartphone empowered education applications.
Vocabulary building is perhaps the single-most essential aspect of language learning. Conventional ways of language teaching and learning have usually relied on classroom teaching and textbook lessons. Video coaching and e-learning were later thrown into the mix. Education websites also grew to meet the needs of students. All these new additions were particularly helpful for language learners, since the domain of foreign language learning has found immense assistance in audio-visual aid. Language tutorial videos, flashcards, online dictionaries and other such material has made vocabulary building easier, more effective and hassle-free.
Then came the concept of smartphones. With the boom in the smartphone market, the domain of language learning got a facelift. Smartphone apps joined the fray (竞争).Teachers started making use of learning apps while instructing and students started using them as well. You can have an entire suite of applications to improve productivity while teaching.
Language Learning Apps
Language learning apps provide not only vocabulary databases, but also pronunciation guides, subtitled videos, podcasts, word cards and a range of audio-visual and other tools to enhance learning. These phone apps make for a learning system that not only strengthen vocabulary, but also ensure proper pronunciation and spelling skills.
Some of these apps are:
Busuu: Scott McGinn, an ESL teacher, swears by English learning apps to instruct his students. “They are a great way to make foreign students understand colloquialisms and phrases used by native English speakers”, he says. His favorite is Busuu, a popular app that uses rewards, achievements and trivia to put the spark back into learning. It offers a social feature that allows the student to interact with native speakers online.
Duolingo: Duolingo uses crowdsourcing to provide users with the option to translate content with their new learning. Gamification(游戏化) has been gaining popularity in the learning scene and Duolingo makes clever use of it. Higher scores unlock further lessons and progress is tracked.
Mental Case (iOS) and AnkiDroid (Android): Many new apps use flash cards to help students remember and practice lessons. In fact, there are whole flash card apps, such as Mental Case (iOS) and AnkiDroid (Android). Stacey O’Connell, who makes tutorial videos for language students, says, “I believe that flash cards go a long way as a teaching tool. The best thing about them is that they can be used independently by students as well.”
Classroom Managing Apps
Often, foreign language classrooms tend to turn chaotic and noisy owing to miscommunication and language barriers. Quite a few smartphone apps address this issue.
The following are two of these:
Socrative: This app is designed like an interactive whiteboard. Kevin Gladden, a high school level language teacher, has this to say about Socrative, “It allows me to run education games for the class. My students can answer multiple-choice, short-answer type and quiz questions.” The results are then displayed as bar graphs. Kevin exports the results as reports.
Teacherkit: Another handy app Kevin recommends is Teacherkit. This efficient classroom managing app is practically a personal organizer. Teachers can use it to create name rolls, take attendance, track behavior of students, and organize student data.
Lesson Planning and Organizing Apps
Then there are also smartphone apps that help teachers in building teaching modules, planning lessons and organizing notes, documents, student data, bookmarks and other teaching aid. Evernote is the juggernaut(巨头) in this range of apps. Not much needs to be said about what it does, since most smartphone users already know. Dropbox, another favorite, makes efficient use of cloud storage. It allows the user to save all documents, multimedia files, notes, and bookmarks in one place, and securely.
There is no end to the number of things you can do with smartphone apps. Start exploring (if you haven’t already) and make your students aware of the efficacy of these apps in learning. Language learning will therefore also turn into more of a fun activity and the boredom will take a backseat. What more could a teacher want?
1. According to the first two paragraphs, which of the following statement is True?| A．Vocabulary building is definitely most important aspect of language learning. |
| B．Traditional classroom teaching and textbook lessons are becoming less significant. |
| C．Foreign language learning has been greatly facilitated by audio-visual aids. |
| D．A variety of multimedia materials make vocabulary learning easy and free. |
| A．beautifies the image of language learning |
| B．helps improve the field of language learning |
| C．transforms the methods of language learning |
| D．lifts the confidence of language learners |
| A．4 | B．6 | C．8 | D．10 |
| A．flashcards can be very helpful for learners, especially for independent work |
| B．tutorial videos still has a long way to go before assisting independent study |
| C．running educational games in the class will be highly engaging for students |
| D．apps can facilitate classroom management, monitor and track performance |
| A．organizing documents and data |
| B．saving multimedia files and notes |
| C．building modules and lessons |
| D．designing multiple choice quizzes |
| A．endless smartphones apps will do everything for language learners |
| B．teachers are responsible to persuade learns to use effective apps |
| C．language learning will become more engaging thanks to these apps |
| D．teachers are supposed to ask for more in making good use of these apps |
2 . We all do it. We put off that dreaded task for five more minutes, then for thirty minutes, then for another hour, until it doesn’t get done at all. And the worst part is we still weren’t able to enjoy our day. We spend so much time stressing over that looming task that it deprives us from actually being able to focus on other tasks.
Why do we do it? We know it never ends well. The problem is that the cycle can feel nearly impossible to break. We get so caught up in the cycle of procrastination that we almost forget how to effectively tackle hard tasks.
Here are five tips for nipping procrastination in the bud and taking back control over your daily life.
Tackle the most difficult task first.
You’re probably thinking “Duh, I already knew that.” But you may not have realized that there’s scientific backing for this suggestion. We only have a limited supply of willpower. Once it’s been used up for the day, chances of us tackling hard tasks are pretty slim. Dive into your hardest task when your energy level is at its highest. This will ensure the best results.
When we push the hard tasks to the end of the day, it takes a toll on our energy all day long. In the end, stressing for hours over the task we’re procrastinating negatively affects all the other tasks on our list.
So next time you’re scheduling the items on your list, make sure to start out with worst one. It may not necessarily be the largest, but it should be the one you’re dreading the most. By accomplishing it so early in the day, you will feel energized and productive. You’ll know the rest of the day is all downhill and cruise through the list with remarkable speed.
Divide the task into smaller tasks.
We tend to get overwhelmed when a giant project looms ahead of us. We don’t know where to start or what to do first. Keep in mind that forests are made up of individual trees. Though you may not be able to take down a whole forest at once, you could certainly start with one tree (or even a branch).
If you need to organize your entire kitchen, start by working on just one cupboard. Organizing one cupboard is much more feasible than trying to get everything done in one swoop. Make a commitment to complete a small step each day, and you’ll find the task becoming less and less daunting with each new task that you accomplish.
Set a mid-day alarm.
There’s nothing more guilt-inducing than ending a day and realizing you haven’t accomplished a single task. We can avoid this rut by setting an alarm on our phone to ring every day around 1 p.m. When the ringer goes off, assess how many things on your list have been attended to.
Re-plan your schedule for the remainder of the afternoon and shift it around to take care of the most important item first. If necessary, you can indulge in a second cup of coffee to jumpstart your “second morning.” By doing this, you will avoid going to bed at night mulling over all the things you didn’t get done.
Dedicate yourself for a small period of time.
To stimulate productivity, there’s an old trick of setting a timer for ten minutes. By frantically racing the clock for that short period, you’ll likely find you become engrossed in your tasks and continue working.
The feeling of dread that has been on your mind will quickly be replaced with a sense of pride and satisfaction. Seeing what you can accomplish in ten minutes when you put your mind to it is quite motivating.
Schedule your tasks on the calendar.
Creating a game plan will help you move past the initial paralysis you feel. Instead of just writing the tasks down in a to-do list, take it a step further and identify when and how you’ll accomplish it.
For example, plan to go to the grocery store at 4:00 p.m. and start cooking dinner promptly at 4:30. By clearing up the anticipatory stress, you’ll avoid a large part of the dread that holds you back. Creating the plan is half the battle!
Though it feels impossible, you have it in you to accomplish everything that you need to every single day. With a fresh perspective, a little prodding (敦促), and a detailed plan, you’ll be well on your way to ending the procrastination cycle once and for all.
1. The word “procrastination” most likely means _______.| A．hesitation | B．delay | C．depression | D．avoidance |
| A．fully realize the importance and severity of the problem of procrastination |
| B．make an effort to keep the problem of procrastination well under control |
| C．take our time to identify the root problem of the habit of procrastination |
| D．prevent and cope with the issue of procrastination in the early stage |
| A．If we put off the hardest task to the end of the day, we can be more energetic. |
| B．It is of greater importance for us to see the “forest” than attend to the “tree”. |
| C．A small and steady step on the daily basis will make the task less overwhelming. |
| D．Having a second cup of coffee will help you compete morning commitment better. |
| A．trick you into being more anxious and desperate |
| B．keep you more concentrated and productive |
| C．help you move past the initial paralysis you feel |
| D．prevent you from feeling guilty when going to bed at night |
| A．it is quite impossible to completely get rid of procrastination circle |
| B．creating a good plan can help you win the battle against procrastination |
| C．everybody may tend to procrastinate and there is little need for guilt |
| D．with the advice listed, it is very hopeful to overcome procrastination |
| A．If | B．Regardless of | C．Whether | D．As though |
| A．Exposed | B．Having exposed | C．Being exposed | D．Exposing |
| A．topped | B．has topped | C．was topped | D．had been topping |
| A．sells | B．selling | C．has been sold | D．having sold |
| A．that…that | B．what…what | C．all…that | D．how…all |
8 . Population and climate
The human population on Earth has grown to the point that it is having an effect on Earth’s atmosphere and ecosystems. Burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, urbanization, and cultivation of rice and cattle are increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust in the atmosphere. About 70 percent of the Sun’s energy passes through the atmosphere and strikes Earth’s surface. This radiation heats the surface of the land and ocean, and these surfaces then reradiate infrared radiation back into space. This allows Earth to avoid heating up too much. However, not all of the infrared radiation makes it into space; some is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere and is reradiated back to Earth’s surface. A greenhouse gas is one that absorbs infrared radiation and then reradiates some of this radiation back to Earth. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides are greenhouse gases. In fact, without greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, scientists calculate that Earth would be about 33℃ cooler than it currently is.
The current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is about 360 parts per million. Human activities are having a major influence on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, which are rising so fast that current predictions made by scientists are that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide will double in the next 50 to 100 years.
Some scientists predict that a doubling of carbon dioxide concentration will raise global temperatures anywhere between 1.4℃ and 4.5℃. The increase in temperature will not be uniform, with the smallest changes at the equator and changes two or three times as great at the poles. The local effects of these global changes are difficult to predict, but it is generally agreed that they may include alterations in ocean currents, increased winter flooding in some areas of the Northern Hemisphere, a higher incidence of summer drought in some areas, and rising sea levels, which may flood low-lying countries.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that one positive aspect of greenhouse gases is that they _______.| A．remove pollutants from Earth’s atmosphere and ecosystems |
| B．absorb 70 percent of the Sun’s energy |
| C．help keep Earth warm |
| D．double atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide |
| A．The rapid rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is mostly caused by human activities. |
| B．Human activities will no longer have an influence on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in the next 50 to 100 years. |
| C．Some scientists predict that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will not increase in the next 50 to 100 years. |
| D．Some scientists recently predict that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations that are largely influenced by human activities will double in the next 50 to 100 years. |
| A．different |
| B．identical |
| C．comparable |
| D．changeable |
| A．Sea levels will fall. |
| B．The effects will not occur in some regions of the world. |
| C．The local plants and forests will be permanently damaged. |
| D．It is hard to know exactly what form the local effects will take. |
| A．Raising livestock and growing rice are the actions of humans. |
| B．The surface of the land and ocean can help decrease the temperature of Earth. |
| C．Although carbon dioxide concentration may double in the future, temperatures at the North Pole and South Pole may not change. |
| D．Nitrogen oxides absorb infrared radiation that can increase the temperature of Earth. |
| A．may have been | B．must have been |
| C．could have been | D．should have been |
| A．as | B．that | C．which | D．who |
